Like many of you, I find myself perplexed with the identity of this car. This is the Mercedes-Benz B 200 BlueEFFICIENCY and it is billed by the German carmaker a sports tourer. What?

Google reveals that sports tourers are either long-distance bikes or station wagons. The B-Class is neither; what it resembles is a scaled up hatchback, a paunchier A-Class if I may. Which is not exactly news considering the new A and the new B shares the same platform. So, essentially, a sports tourer is a longer, wider and taller hatchback.

Continue reading for the full scoop on the new B200.

Let’s talk measurements. The B 200 is 4,359 mm long, 1,786 mm wide and 1,558 tall. The sheet metal that wraps around the frame is designed in a way that makes the sports tourer look wider and tauter. The wide grille and extended headlamps gives the car an aggressive face, which is enhanced by the dynamic creases under the belt line. To me, the overall package looks attractive enough.

The shape does more than just please the eye, or sore the oculars depending how you take to the design. The B-Class’ form is aerodynamic. It records a drag coefficient of 0.26 Cd, which is as wind slicing as the Nissan GT-R. Let’s end the comparison of these two cars here; both are of different sectors after all.

If the exterior is palatable, the interior isn’t. Not to say that the designers have mucked it up, the B-Class is just as stylish and luxurious as the other new-gen Mercs. The chrome bits inside are peppered appropriately and frequent touch-points are nicely packaged in leather. And dials and button have the necessary resistance that elevates the perceived value of the living space.

One more thing to point out is the dashboard trim. Mercedes-Benz is offering two versions, a high-gloss black ash wood or the matt burr walnut trim. I recommend you go for the matt wood. It is so much better to touch (you can feel the grains of the wood) and it makes the interior a cosier place to be.

What falls short is the plastic. The dashboard has that malleable-plastic feel similar to the Volkswagen Passat. The transmission tunnel, especially at the area at the COMAND dial, is hard, rough and very unMercedes-Benz. Shocking. By the way, the gearstick takes position as a steering stalk.

But I can’t fault the B-Class for not being comfortable. Because that is one thing it does well. With a wheelbase of 2,699 mm, there is a good amount of stretching space. Legs, shoulder and head have ample airspace to wiggle about. The front seats are comfortable with the driver’s ergonomics being near faultless. And while the rear bench could use more width for longer thighs, it is still good enough to catch 40 winks in the back.

In the NVH sense, the car is refined. Very little external noises intrude the interior. The wind is kept out until speeds reached in the mid hundreds. Engine noise is barely a whisper, even when you prod it to full chat.

Suspension is particularly good. The MacPherson fronts and four-link rears becomes a sponge that soaks up all but the craggiest of roads. As comfortable as it is, the suspension never feels disconnected or detached from the tarmac.

The chassis also holds the body very well through the corners and that make the B-Class more agile than it looks. Although if you get ambitious, the B 200 will remind you of its tallish roof and the subsequent lean. Other than that, the B-Class is not a very involving drive.

The electromechanical rack-and-pinion power steering registers only a faint pulse, preferring the feedback to come from the steering’s weight rather than give a clearer measure of the road. So you have to solely rely on sight to notice that the car is responding to changes in direction, which is performed quickly.

Not that it matters because, by default, the B 200 does not seem to have the legs to push itself out of corners quickly. Although the 1.6 litre lump is turbocharged, it lacks the quick pickup that usually comes with force-induced powerplants.

The inline-four produces 156 hp at 5,300 rpm and 250 NM torque between 1,250 and 4,000 rpm. The B-Class sprints to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds and has a top speed of 220 km/h. It also comes with the ECO start/stop function that temporary kills the engine at halt. All the while consuming only 5.9 l/100km. Not too bad at all.

Completing the drivetrain is the 7G-DCT, a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. Mercedes-Benz said that the transmission is tuned more for smoothness rather than sport-like performance. Proof comes from the fact that you’ll never feel the transition between gears and at times it is just as smooth as a CVT gearbox, and nearly just as slow.

Not all is lost. You can change the characteristic of the gearbox three ways with a push of a button. You get E, M and S, which really stand for economy, sport and manual.

If you haven’t guessed already, M gives you full control of the gears while S pushes the shift points deeper into the revs. So the B-Class becomes quicker but only just. I leave the gear in E and let the car go about its own devices. It is in a sedate pace that the sports tourer feel the best.

At the end of the day, the B-Class will be nothing more than a grocery-getter, a mummy’s car that is used to ferry the children from school to the tuition centre and the piano teacher’s house after dinner. Even the car’s salient safety feature, Collision Prevention Assist that aims to minimise urban collisions by becoming the driver’s third eye, is a very useful thing to have while driving in the city.

In that sense, as an everyday car, the B-Class is a top-notch machine. If you want anything else, well, there are other alphabets in the Mercedes-Benz soup for you to choose. Of course, as clearly stated in the title, this is just a preview. Once we get the car for a longer term, rest assured you’ll be getting a clearer picture of what the B-Class is truly capable of.

Chris Ng believes that all cars are made equal, and each one has its own unique story to tell. As such, the ex-advertising man is here doing what he truly loves, which is authoring the allegories and anecdotes of automobiles. Having served time in a motoring mag, he believes there's nothing more sublime than keeping the pedal floored and things burbling in top gear.

“…I can’t fault the B-Class for not being comfortable….Legs, shoulder and head have ample airspace to wiggle about. The front seats are comfortable with the driver’s ergonomics being near faultless. …it is still good enough to catch 40 winks in the back…”

If you are so concerned go try it out yourself. Like the title said, this is only a preview not a full review of the vehicle. He is brushing through the details of this particular vehicle and not a total comparison.Please read the title correctly before commenting.

It sure does look ugly to have a windscreen mounted GPS rather than a built in GPS into the car…if only Mercedes Benz Malaysia had included it as standard or optional equipment and with the RM22k price tag…even more so to have it as part of the kit list guess the NAVI button on the dashboard is useless! Its also has a key driven ignition and not keyless entry…sigh.

The hard plastic on the gearbox tunnel is a surprise though…almost like the BMW X1.

FOR YOUR INFO, NXT GEN C-CLASS WILL ALSO FEATURE THIS WINDSCREEN MOUNTED GPS. MAYB SAME AS NXT GEN S-CLASS WHICH DUE NXT YEAR. FURTHUREMORE, E-CLASS IS HAVING A QUICK FACELIFT BY NXT YEAR. LOOK FORWARD FOR A DRASTIC CHANGES.. EVERYTIME MERC CAME OUT WITH A NEW MODEL AND TOTALLY NEW DASHBOARD. IT WILL BE THE DESIGN LANGUAGE OF UP COMING MODELS. LOOK AT THE STEERING AND CHROME BUTTON, AINT THAT FROM CLS?

The GPS belongs to the Event Organiser and not MBM. It’s there in the picture just to show you how it’ll look like mounted that way.

The new generation NAVI might make it to our shores and it is retrofitable. Problem is, MBM cannot confirm when the unit is coming. I hesitate writing unconfirmed information like this into the main story.

Yes, there is a current GPS but MBM is not including that in the B-Class because it will add to the price. Trouble comes when early-adopters who buys the B-Class with the current GPS unit and then find their unit obsolete when the new ones arrive. Swapping will cost money. MBM said that they don’t want situation like that to happen. So, instead of adding cost to the buyers, they chose to make that GPS an option.

One last thing, the GPS unit is said to be part of the iPhone interface the practically turns the entire B-Class into an iPhone on wheels. This is also retrofitable with the audio unit.

ECU is mounted right at front of bonnet so it can be auto washed in our infamous down-pour and flash floods? Can someone get us the replacement cost after a medium front collision. Please ensure car is not under-insured.

Insurance may not pay you if one single device repair cost is quoted to be RM80OOO although you B-class is fully insured at RM229999. One of the worst investments is buying insurance, including life insurance, if you have the ability to insure yourself. If your income is one B-class per month and you can be satisfied with just B-class, then just buy the third party car insurance. Car get stolen? Haha, chance to get a new one, fully paid by bank afterall.

AWESOME DESIGN, NXT GEN C-CLASS WILL ALSO FEATURE THIS WINDSCREEN MOUNTED GPS. MAYB SAME AS NXT GEN S-CLASS WHICH DUE NXT YEAR. FURTHUREMORE, E-CLASS IS HAVING A QUICK FACELIFT BY NXT YEAR. LOOK FORWARD FOR A DRASTIC CHANGES.. EVERYTIME MERC CAME OUT WITH A NEW MODEL AND TOTALLY NEW DASHBOARD. IT WILL BE THE DESIGN LANGUAGE OF UP COMING MODELS. LOOK AT THE STEERING AND CHROME BUTTON, AINT THAT FROM CLS?

looks awful. i just hate the exterior. reminds me of tofota 1st but withextended tail and heightened roof ithe previous one is better looking though the shoulder line is quite steep at the driver door.

Seriously Merc? Have u ran out of design ideas that u have to copy Audi Q5’s DRL design and the back Light designs of Audi as well?? Meh….. Audi has their personality in design cues and carry their own identity.. what about Merc now days?

It might be a completely new model but it sure looks like the previous generation… except for slight changes. Which means it will still only be bought by moms. Frankly, I have not seen a male driver in a B class until today. Except my friend who took his wife’s car to the tire shop.

What amazes me is the CD of 0.26!!! From than size and shape. Incredible job, Mercedes! Now, when are you launching the A Class?????

Hi – would appreciate it if you could provide a comparison of interior space (esp rear legroom, width and boot space) between then new B200 and old B180. I own the latter and have consistently been surprised at how many people and how much stuff it carries! Many thanks.

I found the old one got better interior space than the new one. There are couple of things I need to point the diff. First The rear seats of the new B sits lower than your B and because the two front seats are more bulky compare to yours it makes the rear passenger sitting in a small box which block the view. Second thing is the thigh support which is too narrow as compare to yours one adult won’t find it comfortable in it and also you sit more upright than the old B. Wheelbase the old B is longer then the new B. Third thing is the transmission tunnel which restrict the middle rear passenger leg room/foot room. Fourth is the new B has got smaller boot than your old B. Fifth can anyone point out if there is a spare tyre or repair kit?

Hi TPL – thanks very much for your comments. I had a good look (though no test drive) @ the new B at the Jalan SI showroom and thought that the interior (esp the back and boot) looked quite a bit smaller. Thanks for confirming this.

I like the car after looking at it for 15 mintues, esp. the interior and so I implusively booked the car at C&C.

Went home read all kind of reviews, you tube, comments from people and in the end a decisive me had become indecisive. 3 days later I cancelled my booking.

I realised the main reason I cancelled is because B200 isn’t the SUV type of car I was looking for. It’s a MPV, a hatchback and mercedes even called it sport tourer?! Is mercedes also indecisive?

Dimension wise it’s just smaller than all SUVs. About the comment on soccer mom’s car, I heard few more such as “woman’s car” from my banker – no offence intended, “suitable for elder folks of 60s and above”, no offence intended also – as the design hieght the reviewer said makes it easier for people to enter the car easily.

Picturing myself with B200 just isn’t right. C-250 perhaps a much better deal but you’ve got to top up a bit. Well, for RM220k, I think it is a good budget to shop for proper SUV. I hope I didn’t spoil your appetite – it’s just my take on B200.

Please tell me that I am wrong and live to regret buying the other car #$%%

I’m planning to buy one. But need to know about the driving pleasure. Coz I’m used to drive far on highway. My actual plan is to buy cx5 2.5 but I simply start to love this car on my first sight. Pls advice me…

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